RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Power bill shock as RET helps big firms

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-16

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox warns that a sharp rise in the spot price of large-scale generation certificates could result in a 1-2 per cent increase in electricity bills for households and businesses. He attributes the rise in the spot price to concern that growth in renewable energy supply will not be sufficient to meet the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target. This requires the proportion of electricity generated by renewables to rise from 12.75 per cent at present to 23.5 per cent by 2020. Some states have more aggressive renewable energy targets.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

How hardcore greens trumped unions on RET

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Original article by Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Oct-16

The Australian Labor Party has adopted a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 under the influence of militant environmentalists. The party ignored objections from the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The Labor Environmental Action Network devised the target in late 2014. Its aim was to ensure that the party accepts the target as part of its ideology.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CLIMATEWORKS PTY LTD, THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

SA crisis: PM demands cut to renewable targets

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 30-Sep-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has used the blackout in South Australia (SA) to stress the need for a new national renewables target. He said on 29 September 2016 that the Labor state governments of SA, Queensland and Victoria adopted targets that are "extremely unrealistic". Queensland has a renewable target of 50 per cent, while the current level of renewables is only about 4.5 per cent. Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the matter will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of state energy ministers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Hazelwood closure set to push up prices

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Sep-16

France-based Engie could make a final decision on the mooted closure of Victoria’s Hazelwood coal-fired power station in October 2016. Some media reports have suggested that the power plant could be shut down in April 2017, but Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says no decision has been made. Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute says the brown coal plant’s closure would result in higher electricity prices, while Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has questioned the need for states to have their own renewable energy targets.

CORPORATES
ENGIE SA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR CLIMATE ECONOMICS AND POLICY

One Nation may pull the plug on renewable energy

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Original article by Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 6 : 11-Jul-16

The Coalition and the Australian Labor Party both support the introduction of renewable energy targets. However, a rise in electricity prices in some states may make the introduction of renewable energy targets more difficult, while One Nation opposes such targets and wants renewable energy subsidies to be abolished. Climate Institute CEO John Connor has cautioned against allowing clean energy and climate reforms to be derailed.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, CLIMATE INSTITUTE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET COMMISSION

ALP’s climate policy ‘to leave some in dark’

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Original article by Rick Morton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Apr-16

Welfare groups are concerned about the Australian Labor Party’s new climate change policy on low-income households if it wins the 2016 federal election. Labor says the policy will have a limited impact on electricity prices, but Welfare Rights Network Sydney’s Gerard Thomas argues that compensation will be necessary and it must be more equitable than that provided under Labor’s carbon tax. The Labor policy includes an emissions trading scheme and sourcing 50 per cent of the nation’s electric power from renewable energy by 2030.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WELFARE RIGHTS NETWORK SYDNEY, COUNCIL ON THE AGEING, COMBINED PENSIONERS AND SUPERANNUANTS ASSOCIATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Greens’ Brown praises Turnbull’s energy shift

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 24-Mar-16

The Australian Greens’ former leader Bob Brown has welcomed the decision of the Federal Government to retain the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The current leader of the party, Richard Di Natale, is not impressed. He described Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s move as a "con job". The Australian Labor Party stressed that Turnbull has cut funding to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency by $A1.3 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION FUND, AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Subsidy won’t generate target

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-Mar-16

Insufficient investment in wind and solar energy generation will make it difficult for Australian to reach the Renewable Energy Target (ERT). According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 532 megawatts of new wind and solar projects are under construction, which is less than a tenth of the capacity required to meet the RET. The Federal Government may need to renegotiate the target with the Opposition.

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG LP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Compromise deal on RET in the wind

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Original article by Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Mar-15

The Australian Government and industry bodies are expected to agree on a compromise arrangement for the Renewable Energy Target scheme. The new target of around 35,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 would stimulate investment in wind farms. Bloomberg estimates that the new target would result in 8.8 gigawatts of extra renewable energy capacity by 2021

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG LP, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Gulf too wide for RET deal, says Labor

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Original article by Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Nov-14

The Australian Government’s refusal to compromise on its proposes changes to the Renewable Energy Target (RET) has prompted the Opposition to abandon negotiations over the reforms. Shadow environment minister Mark Butler says the Australian Labor Party will not support the savage reduction in the RET that is being sought by the Government. Private sector investment in renewable energy has been put on hold for most of 2014 due to uncertainty about the future of the RET

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PALMER UNITED PARTY